THE DOOR WAS EXACTLY WHAT HE EXPECTED.

The prince had been worried it wouldn’t be there. That he’d read the clues incorrectly. Gone to the wrong mountain. That he’d, once again, be embarrassed in front of his men. But, there it stood; A massive, intricately carved stone slab, set into a cliff face. He wanted to cheer and dance. He suppressed the impulse. The mountain was cursed. They couldn’t speak until the mountain’s keeper, a fairy, greeted them, or they returned to flat ground.

Despite being wide and tall enough to fit four mounted lancers and a standard bearer riding abreast, the door hadn’t been visible until they stood on the first step. The vegetation screening it was thick, but not wild. It was clearly maintained for exactly this purpose. In the centre of the door was a large brass ring - clean and well-polished.

He took a deep breath to steady his nerves. His apprehension had been manageable when they set out, but had grown with every step they took towards this place. Now, he could barely hear himself think over the all-consuming din of it.

Run away. Go home. You’re a fool.

He shook his head and reached up with his gloved fingers. He couldn’t let himself break now. He was sure he’d die on his return if he failed.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

He released the ring and stepped back, unsure what he expected to happen next.

The ground rumbled slightly, and the stone door swung inward. Behind it, a pitch-black void yawned. He held up his hand and silently signalled his attendants to follow. He crossed the threshold into the darkness and paused, waiting for his eyes to adjust.

As the last of the group stepped into the darkness, a dim light appeared ahead of them. It revealed a doorway and another room beyond. He approached cautiously, his boots sliding across the unseen ground. It felt like polished stone - no ridges to suggest tiles. He could hear his men following close behind him.

They had lanterns, but they could not light them. It was forbidden.

He reached the source of the light - a bluish gem set into the vaulted ceiling, barely bright enough to illuminate the texture of the walls. To his right, another light came on, revealing a corridor into darkness. As he turned towards it, the original light went out. One of his men stifled a cry of surprise.

They hadn’t been told what would happen if you spoke on the mountain - or if ‘speaking’ included small noises like that. He silently prayed it didn’t count. He couldn’t afford to lose any of these men. They were loyal.

Another light appeared beyond the second, and a moment later, the second went out. If they didn’t follow, they’d likely lose the lights altogether and be trapped, lost in the blackness. He hastened toward it, no longer sweeping his feet across the floor, wary of pits or traps. Soon, they were jogging to keep pace with the lights, turning left and right, through rooms and down hallways. A vast labyrinth of stone.

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They heard it, more than saw it. The echo of a cavernous room. Ahead of him, the lights stopped. Beneath the last light, he could see railing - and when he reached it, he could feel the wide, open drop.

The light didn’t lead them further, and it didn’t go out, so they stood, shuffling nervously.

A voice - it felt like it was coming from everywhere.

‘What have you come here for?’

Even with all the theatrics - she sounded exactly as he remembered, from some forty years ago.

He took his unstrung bow and, kneeling, placed it on the ground.

‘I’ve come to make amends. I wronged you. My only excuse is youthful arrogance.’

He could hear her laughter, somewhere out there, suspended in shadow. Cold sweat prickled the back of his neck.

‘I found the engraving in your cottage in the woods - the riddle, and the map. It took a while to understand it. ‘Repentance’ was the key.’

A flicker in the darkness took form - a face - her face. She stood, illuminated by a shaft of dim blue light, exactly the same as she had been back then. She was even in the same dress - the one she’d been wearing when he shot her. It was a petty, childish act of vengeance for being told no. He bowed his head in shame.

‘When you refused to be my queen, you told me your immortality would make it impossible for my bloodline to continue. I would have no heirs. You gave me a functional reason. You gave my father a philosophical reason, and my grandfather a political reason. To each of us, a reason you knew we would understand… but the sum of them - without saying it - you told us our kingdom was rotten, and that it should burn.’

He didn’t know if she was still laughing. All he could hear was the sound of the blood thundering in his ears.

‘You were right. Once you left, the crown lost power. At every turn, another snapping wolf with a fine pedigree would come to tear off a fragment of our legitimacy. Now, they won’t even recognise my succession. The peasants are starving, the ports open only for frivolous things. The nobility doesn’t even realise what’s happening - what they’re doing. The kingdom is dying. The people are dying. I’m not asking you to come back as my queen, or even to stay on as an advisor, like before. I’m begging you; please. Come back with me. Help me destroy the corruption that is eating my people alive.’

‘I will pretend I believe your sincerity.’

He looked up, hopeful. She glided through the air, closer - in her hands a sword. She held it out. He reached over the railing to take it, but caught sight of the monstrous armoured hand she was standing on.

‘I will give you this. Take it and return home. Make whatever preparations you need. When you are ready, draw the blade from its scabbard. It will be my signal to come and destroy every noble bloodline in your kingdom.’

‘Thank you! Thank you! I-’

‘Every noble bloodline.’

He looked down at the hilt of the sword, shifting his grip on the scabbard, thinking back on the people who had been bleeding the kingdom dry.

‘I understand… It’s necessary. It has always been necessary.’

‘I do not have the power of prophecy, but I don’t believe you will draw the sword.’

‘What?’

‘Don’t make me wait too long, or I’ll be disappointed.’

With that, she vanished into the dark.